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Barcelona remain the world's best-paid sports team

2 May ~ Barcelona will not retain the Champions League and are almost certainly going to lose their La Liga title to Real Madrid, but the club's players can take comfort in the knowledge that their average weekly wage of £103,000 is still the highest for any sports team. Analysis of the wage bills of 278 teams across ten countries and seven sports found that Barcelona players, who make £5.4 million a year, are sport's highest earners. Football clubs dominate the top ten places, with Real Madrid (£4.8m), Manchester City (£4.6m) and Chelsea (£4.2m) making up the top four. West Ham, who face Cardiff in the Championship play-offs tomorrow night, are 14 places higher than Newcastle, according to the ESPN survey.